


when all of this is over

by scrubclub



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Love in the Time of Quarantine, accidental nudes, falling in love over the phone, partially a texting fic i guess, video chat dates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:54:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23281321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scrubclub/pseuds/scrubclub
Summary: A self-isolation/quarantine love story featuring accidental nudes and lots of boredom and bristol boards (and some of the author's anxieties laid out bare)updated due to author stupidity, missing chunk in the middle now included
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Comments: 78
Kudos: 463





	when all of this is over

**Author's Note:**

> anxiety got the better of me with this one. take this seriously, look after yourselves, and please please stay inside as much as you can!! it's unedited and it's messy but that's what life is like right now, right?
> 
> \- apologies to hot pie for not giving him a role as the youtube chef. my love of puns took over on that one.  
> \- it was nice to get some of the things that i hate about isolation (and the whole deadly global pandemic thing in general) onto paper. if you are also going a bit stir crazy, i do suggest writing some of your anxieties out.  
> \- i love you all and the best thing we can do right now is our best, so let's do that!  
> \- i am sure that by now, we all have been affected by this and know a lot of people who are suffering. if you don't, you are very lucky, but please be mindful of others and stop going out for anything other than essentials or a bit of lonesome fresh air!!

She had resisted upgrading her phone for ages, but Arya had to admit that being able to see her home screen clearly - no longer marred by large cracks from the multiple falls her old phone had taken - was sort of nice. It felt luxurious to scroll up her screen without risking a small cut from the broken fiberglass. Plus, she had been able to keep her old number. She was rather fond of the Northern area code attached to it. 

Arya had only actually bothered to replace her old phone because it had finally died on her, no longer even able to turn on after she had dropped it into the bath a few days previously. Her new phone was slick, the state-of-the-art one that Bran insisted was worth the price. It was ultra-fast and had no headphone jack, which would force her to use the fancy wireless headphones that Robb had bought her for her birthday. It also took unbelievably nice photos. 

The one downside was that she had not been able to back up her old phone’s data, meaning that her contact list was almost completely empty. This was a bit of a bummer, because she had promised her dear friend and tattoo artist that she’d send her a photo of her most recent piece now that it had healed. It was also a bummer because not a day after replacing her phone, the apocalypse arrived, bringing with it a call for total social isolation and an unholy amount of boredom.

-

It wasn’t actually the apocalypse, just a highly contagious virus that prompted some serious quarantining, preventing the entire country from leaving their homes - unless they were getting essentials or medical help. You could go outside, so long as you stayed away from everyone else (most people in the densely populated university neighbourhood of King’s Landing stuck to their patios, though). The number of cases rose rapidly every day, and some people had been reported as carriers without showing even minor symptoms, so Arya, was doing her best to abide by the rules and regulations sent out by the Health Ministry. 

The problem was that Arya Stark _loved_ being around people. Alone time was not her thing, and after two days, she was going a little stir crazy and decided to do literally everything on her to-do list besides homework. She started with a phone call to wish her Uncle Edmure a happy birthday, and then went through the process of getting refunds on two upcoming concerts that had been cancelled. She scrubbed down her kitchen and facetimed Bran and watered the plants that grew on her tiny balcony. She then popped into her bathroom and unbuttoned her shirt, smiling at her fully healed tattoo. 

She knew Mya’s number. It was easy to remember. It started with 203, just like Mycah’s, and then it was 4268, or something like that. It felt risky, sending a topless photo to an unknown number, though, so she figured she should double check first. 

-

Arya: This you, Baratheon?

203 4268: Yeah…?

Arya: Omg I can’t believe I remembered it right

Arya: I got a new phone so I’ve lost all my contacts

Arya: Here you go - IMG_189.jpg

Arya: Sorry for the nips but it’s nothing you haven’t seen before - you can do whatever you want with them, I’m not bothered

-

Gendry stared at his phone, heat rising in his face. The mirror was still foggy from the shower he had stepped out of a few minutes earlier, and the steam only made him feel warmer. He had never actually been sent an unsolicited photo of a topless woman and wasn’t quite sure what he was supposed to do now. He had been about to hit send on a text that asked “Who is this?” when the photo file had come through and he had dropped his phone onto the bathroom floor - the impact had caused yet another crack to appear on his screen. 

Now, he gaped at the message - it was a rather high-definition mirror selfie of a girl’s torso, her shirt unbuttoned and hanging carelessly at her elbows. Her face wasn’t visible, but her boobs were in full view. They were perky and nicely shaped, divided in the middle by a tattoo that depicted a sword running down the middle of her chest. He blinked at his screen and re-read her last message. 

_sorry for the nips but it’s nothing you haven’t seen before haha_

_you can do whatever you want with them_

He wasn’t sure why she was apologizing - surely if she wasn’t positive that he’d like to see her topless, she wouldn’t have sent the picture. And he was almost certain that he had never seen those particular breasts before. He surely would have remembered a girl with nice tits and a sword tattoo, right? 

Gendry wasn’t one to hook up with random women, to drunkenly sleep with strangers and forget about them. In fact, he never did that. Most people annoyed him, and he could count his one-night stands on one hand. None of those girls had a sword tattoo between their boobs. 

Maybe it was brand new and she was trying to impress him - maybe she remembered that he studied swords and weapons and thought he might be interested in her new ink… He frowned at the photo. 

It’s not as though he had a photographic memory for tits, but he was fairly sure that he had never seen these ones before. This girl certainly seemed to expect him to recognize them, though. This girl who knew his father’s last name, which wasn’t exactly something he advertised... 

Gendry zoomed in on the photo, inspecting details around her body - they used the same brand of toothpaste, she had some sort of plant hanging by the mirror, and he didn’t recognize the wallpaper in her bathroom. Nothing useful. 

The girl’s number had a regional area code - one from the North. He had never slept with someone from up North (though, if he was honest, he had always thought the Northern accent sort of cute.)

He swiped out of the photo, trying to figure out what he was supposed to say to this girl.

-

Arya set her phone down and tugged her shirt back onto her shoulders, not bothering to button it up. She watched dots appear on her screen as Mya began to type out a reply a few times before stopping. 

Then, a text came through from a new number. 

-

203 4286: while i’m under house arrest im trying to get my portfolio shit done - can you send me that pic

203 4286: no prob if it’s a little x-rated, i can censor as needed. just make sure the piece is visible

203 4286: thx in advance babe

Arya: …

Arya: Is this Mya?

Mya: yeah lol. did arya stark finally get a new phone?

-

Gendry had given up on replying. Being the scholar and craftsman that he was, though, he couldn’t help but zoom in and admire the details on the sword. It was an exquisite recreation of a particular style of Braavosi blade, stylized like a scientific drawing with an added touch of shading. It was rather striking - well, the whole photo was, really. 

There were a few strands of brown hair falling down over her shoulders, as if they had come loose from a haphazard updo. Her phone - one of those expensive, fancy things - looked large in her hand. 

He felt like a creep for looking, but he couldn’t help it. The picture - from her long neck to her tattoo to the jeans slung loose on her hips - was sexy. Gendry ran a hand through his still-damp hair and exhaled. 

Then, a slew of messages arrived in quick succession.

-

+33 504 8930: So here’s the thing

+33 504 8930: You are not my friend and you are definitely not my tattoo artist

+33 504 8930: Apologies if you’re like married with kids and your wife saw that

+33 504 8930: And if you’re not then I guess enjoy the free wanking material

+33 504 8930: Hold on 

+33 504 8930: Why did you say ‘yeah’ when I asked if you were Mya?

+33 504 8930: Hello??

Gendry: You said Baratheon…

+33 504 8930: Oh my ducking god

+33 504 8930: FUCKING***

+33 504 8930: …..….is this Robert?

Gendry: No?? This is Gendry. 

Gendry: Mya’s brother

+33 504 8930: Oh..

+33 504 8930: Fuck 

Gendry: Are you one of her clients? 

Gendry: This all makes sense now

Gendry: Nice sword

-

“Mya!” Arya cried as soon as her friend picked up the phone, “Is Gendry the hot brother?”

“ _What?_ ”

“The one with, like, no social media who you never bring to the pub because Wylla said she’d let -,”

“Don’t say that out loud again,” Mya groaned. “And the reason Gendry doesn’t come to the pub is because he’s an anti-social prick.” 

“A hot one, though, right?” 

“You’ve never even seen him.” 

“But Wylla has, and Wylla’s a lesbian who said she’d let him -,”

“ _Arya!_ ” Mya snapped. “What is this about?” Arya looked at herself in the mirror, her shirt still unbuttoned and her hair a bit of a mess. She smiled at her isolated, stir-crazy self, half mortified and half amused. Clearly the alone time was getting to her. 

“Just thinking about ways to make this whole quarantine thing a little less boring,” Arya shrugged. “I’ll send you that picture right now.” 

-

Gendry stood in the bathroom, towel around his waist, staring at his stupid reflection. 

_nice sword_

A girl had - albeit accidentally - sent him a photo of her very nice, very naked tits, and he had responded with “ _nice sword_ ”. He grimaced as he saw the little dots appear as she typed out a reply. 

-

Arya: Thanks x

Arya: Are my tits not also nice?

Gendry is typing...

Gendry is typing…

Gendry: They’re also very nice

Gendry: Do you always fish for compliments when you send these?

Arya: I don’t usually have to, most people reply with something smoother than ‘nice sword’

Gendry: Fair enough

Gendry: Figured that ‘nice tits’ went without saying 

Arya: Good save

Arya: I’m Arya btw

Gendry: Hi Arya

Arya: You and Mya’s numbers are incredibly similar

Gendry: Yeah it’s pretty weird

Gendry: But no complaints

Arya: I should hope not 

Arya: It’s not exactly fair tho. I make an honest mistake, you get a nice photo to look at, and I get nothing 

Gendry: I can delete it if you want

Arya: Orrrr you could just even the playing field… 

Gendry: ?

Gendry: Oh

Arya: I mean, your sister is the most talented tattoo artist south of the blackwater. Surely you have some of her work to show off..

-

Gendry was pretty sure he was going crazy. Maybe three full days of not speaking to another person had got to him. Maybe he felt guilty for liking the look of her tits when she hadn’t even meant to send them. Maybe he just looked at himself in the mirror, still wearing only a towel after his shower, and thought that, lack of tattoos aside, there was no harm in one shirtless selfie.

Maybe it was the fact that he had seen Mya’s friend Arya in photographs pinned up on Mya’s wall and had frequently, against all of his usual instincts, been on the verge of asking Mya about her. 

-

Gendry: Fine. 

Gendry: IMG_392.jpeg

Arya is typing…

Arya is typing… 

Arya: No ink?

Gendry: Sorry to disappoint

Arya: Disappointed is not the word I’d use for my current state 

Gendry: What word would you use?

Arya: Do you always fish for compliments when you send these?

Gendry: Ha

Gendry: Never sent one before

Arya: What a waste! You’re ridiculously hot and should absolutely be showing yourself off

Gendry: You too

Arya: You haven’t even seen my face but thank you for calling my tits ridiculously hot

Gendry: Yes I have, you’re in Mya’s photos 

Gendry: She has them all over her walls, you were a sexy knight for halloween, right?

Gendry: I sound like a total stalker 

Arya: I was Joan of Tarth

Gendry: Poor taste to turn a saint into a sexy halloween costume

Arya: It wasn’t meant to be sexy

Gendry: And yet

-

Arya blushed as she set her phone down. She had only wanted to flirt with Mya’s hot brother, maybe entertain herself for the afternoon and turn the picture mishap into something to laugh about. 

And here he was making her feel pretty. 

-

Arya: Mya told me you hated people

Gendry: That’s only cause she’s a social butterfly. I’m just not as good with talking. 

Arya: You seem fine to me

Gendry: Well I’m a guy

Gendry: Most guys are pretty willing to talk to any girl who sends him a photo of her tits and tells him he can do what he wants with them

Arya: ...Fair

Gendry: Also I’ve been alone in this flat for days and I’m sick of writing papers

Gendry: I could use a bit of human interaction

-

It wasn’t the most conventional start to a friendship, but they were alone and the world was too quiet. Why not befriend the hot guy you accidentally send nudes to, right?

-

Arya: So what does Mya’s anti-social prick of a brother study?

Gendry: Archeology 

Gendry: Mostly old weapons and stuff - like that Braavosi rapier of yours. The left-handed handle is a cool touch.

Arya: Impressive

Arya: Glad to hear you inspected that picture so closely

Gendry: I’m nothing if not thorough

Gendry: What do you do?

Arya: Trying to finish my degree but who knows how that’s going to go with all of my exams postponed indefinitely 

Gendry: Shit. What’s your major?

Arya: Linguistics.

Gendry: Cool!

Gendry: Do you know any Dothraki?

Arya: Like personally? No, but a family friend of mine is dating one

Gendry: Ha ha 

Arya: I know a few basic words. My focus is more on historical linguistics and the development of language 

Gendry: Shit that sounds intense 

Arya: It’s pretty cool. If we’re ever allowed out of our houses again, I think it’d be cool to apply to grad school

Gendry: Grad school is hell

Gendry: But you should totally do it! 

-

Gendry had never been good at talking to anyone, let alone hot girls. It didn’t feel so hard with Arya, though. It just felt like talking to a friend, only the friend in question was very pretty and he had fallen asleep trying and failing to not think about her topless for three nights in a row now. 

-

They ended up texting each other most days, often just to agree that life in isolation was getting very old.

Gendry sent Arya a digital copy of a history book he thought she’d like - she did. Arya continually attempted to convince Gendry to create an Instagram account - he didn’t.

-

Mya: my portfolio site is updatedddd please send me your thoughts

Mya: also my brother asked if you were single please don't do this to me

Arya: What did he say

Arya: Like specifically

Mya: portfolio feedback

Arya: It looks great

Mya: ….

Arya: It is stunning and completely representative of who you are and what you do and how you connect with your clients through the art you’re putting on their bodies. The logo is beautiful and the pictures all look great, especially mine. 

Mya: thank you

Arya: What did he say

Mya: there’s literally nothing to tell you he just texted me to say “is Arya single” 

Mya: here’s the screenshot - IMG_030.jpeg

Mya: he has no game

Arya: Why did he even need to ask this??

Arya: Does he think I’d be flirting with him this hard if I was dating someone? He’s so stupid

Arya: I’m totally going to sleep with him when the government says I’m allowed to 

Mya: k please delete me from your contacts again 

-

Arya had always sort of respected Mya for taking her half-present father’s last name and using it to her advantage. Mya was Mya Stone legally, but she had gone by Baratheon for as long as Arya had known her, because being Robert Baratheon’s daughter made you into an instant influencer. Mya wasn’t famous by any means, but she had leveraged her last name to boost her clientele and help keep her little tattoo parlour running. She was something of an indie it-girl in King’s Landing. 

Legally, Gendry was Gendry Waters. He never used the Baratheon name if he could help it, which is why Arya’s initial text message had confused him so much. He admitted to her that he had never, to his knowledge, slept with anyone who knew he was Robert’s son, and had therefore gone through quite the mental journey in the moments between her photograph and her introduction. 

Arya felt like an idiot for smiling at the message he sent that told her he had been happy when he found out it was Mya’s cute friend. 

-

Arya: Are you awake?

Gendry: Yeah

Arya: It’s hard to sleep when you barely do anything all day

Gendry: It’s driving me fucking crazy 

Arya: How’s your work coming?

Gendry: Alright 

Gendry: Would get more done if i could stop checking the news every five seconds

Arya: Gods same

Arya: Most of my profs seem to have given up on the semester entirely because online lectures are such a fiasco. 

Gendry: I don't think humans are meant to stare at screens all day

_Incoming call from Arya Stark_

-

“Hi,” Gendry breathed. Arya swallowed. Of course his voice was as hot as the rest of him - husky and low and tired. 

“Hi,” she said, “I just thought this might be nicer. Saves us from staring at a screen.” 

“Shit,” he laughed, “You’re _properly_ Northern.” 

“Shut it,” Arya said, her cheeks warming at the unmistakable fondness in his tone.

“I like it,” he said. “It’s cute. _Ay up!_ ” 

“Fuck off,” Arya said, but she couldn’t help but join in his laughter. 

-

“What do you see out your window?” 

“You know that one building with the green top?”

“The belltower?” 

“Yeah,” 

“In Cobbler’s Square? I live right by there.” 

“No way. Which building?”

“The old ugly yellowish one.”

“Oh, I love that one! I’m in the red brick one with the deli at the bottom - we’re practically neighbours. Which way do you face?”

“Southwest.”

“Ah.” 

-

“At least the stars are out tonight.”

“It’s sort of nice with the city so quiet.” 

“I wish we could go out.” 

“Me too.” 

“Outside, I mean. Not - well, I guess -,”

“I’d like that.” 

-

“D’you think when all of this is over, the world will feel sort of…,”

“Different?”

“Yeah.” 

-

“The world already feels sort of different.

Arya?

Good night.” 

-

They spoke on the phone more after that. Arya liked it - he made the days feel less lonely, and he liked any excuse to tease her for her accent. She pretended to be annoyed by it. 

-

Arya: Want to have dinner together tonight? I’m sick of looking at this essay.

Arya: Bronn Appetit posted a special quarantine recipe video, the pasta looks amazing. I’ll track down the link now.

Gendry: It’s a date!

-

Gendry felt like an idiot for fixing his hair and for flossing twice and for putting on a freshly laundered black tee - it wasn’t as though Arya would be in the same room as him. 

-

Arya had planned to do her hair and change from a sports bra to a regular one, but she had been on the verge of completing one of her final essays of the semester, and when one stumbles over a bout of writer’s block, one has no choice but to carry on typing for as long as they can. 

This meant that when Gendry’s video call came through, her hair was half tied back and falling haphazardly in her face, her kitchen was still something of a mess, and she was wearing an old ratty t-shirt that fell off of her shoulder, revealing her very thick and not at all sexy bra strap. 

“Hey,” he said. He looked perfect, and Arya’s hand immediately went to her hair. 

“Hi,” she said with a blush. “Sorry I’m a mess.”

“Are you?” He looked at her curiously and she flushed. 

“Always,” she insisted. “Let’s cook!” 

-

It was rather fun, cooking the same meal, only with a few unexpected differences - Arya had no sundried tomatoes, so she added in a chopped red onion.

“Those aren’t even close to the same!” Gendry insisted. 

“That’s not the point, Gendry,” Arya said, pointing her knife at the phone. “This is all about experimentation and using what you have. We’re quarantined!” 

“Fine,” he said, turning away from the camera and giving her a rather nice view of his backside. “Then I’m adding anchovies.” 

“That’s the spirit!” 

-

“Mine is delicious,” Arya said, carefully wiping a bit of sauce from her lower lip and then sucking it off of her thumb.

“Uh huh,” Gendry said, seemingly distracted by something. “Sorry, yeah, mine is awesome.” 

“Bronn’s a genius,” Arya said. “In the kitchen, anyway. Not sure I’d trust him to do much else.” 

-

“What’s for dessert?” Gendry asked. 

“That was your job,” Arya shrugged, turning to set her dishes aside and wash her hands thoroughly with soap and warm water. Thirty seconds later, Gendry still hadn’t said anything. “I’m kidding,” she said, rolling her eyes. “What?” 

“Nothing,” Gendry said quickly, his face reddening slightly. “I like your shorts.” Arya looked down and realized that she was wearing a tiny pair of pyjama shorts, and that from the angle she had left her phone, Gendry had just spent the last minute with a rather full view of her bare legs as she leaned over the sink. 

“Oh,” she said, “Thanks.” 

“I don’t have any ideas for dessert,” Gendry admitted, standing up to rummage through his cupboard. “I’ve got digestives, do they count?”

“I have shortbread,” Arya said. “Close enough!”

-

Arya: Kill me

Gendry: Hello to you too

Gendry: What’s up?

Arya: Today is hopeless. I finally finished my last essay and as soon as I submitted it, they sent out a mass email saying that it had been cancelled and that our grades would be based only on our previous work. 

Gendry: Shit 

Arya: Luckily I’m a genius so I’ll still get a good grade but fuck!!!

Arya: Also tbh I’m fine with graduation being cancelled. Did not want to bother buying a dress.

Gendry: I can't do that sort of shit. Big celebrations are my personal hell. 

Arya: I can totally imagine you standing in the corner and scowling the whole time

Gendry: You got it 

Gendry: Mya tried to throw me a birthday party two years ago and I pretended to be sick so I could leave after twenty minutes

Arya: Your own birthday party??

Gendry: Yeah I don't really do birthdays. 

Arya: Of course you don’t 

-

She wasn’t sure what it was about his voice, but it seemed to lull her into a deep and peaceful sleep, something that was much needed in a world where all of the news seemed to be bad. Arya wasn’t embarrassed the first time she fell asleep during their phone conversation, but the second time, Gendry revealed that she spoke in her sleep before he hung up. 

Arya: What did I say..

Gendry: Nothing interesting dw

Gendry: Just mumbles mostly

Arya: Mostly?

Gendry: You said “finally” once, which I’m guessing was part of a dream that involved a lifting of the quarantine

Arya: Oh probably yeah 

-

She had been dreaming about him, but Gendry didn’t need to know that. 

-

Gendry: Okay I wrote 500 words and I’m cracking open a beer

Arya: It’s 11am

Gendry: Cheers!

Arya: I'm glad you’re also utterly unhinged today. I just trimmed my own bangs.

Arya: Want to download Tinder?

Gendry: Can I see them? And no, why would I do that??

Arya: You can see a photo if you find me on tinder

Arya: C'mon it’ll be fun, we’ll swipe until we find each other. I want to see what sort of behaviour the apocalypse brings out in people!

Gendry: Fine

Arya: YESSSSS I’ll see you there x

Gendry: Is left yes or no

Gendry: What does “superlike” mean

Gendry: Help me

Gendry: Gods these girls are keen

Arya: I knew they’d like you

Arya: How many offers have you received? 

Gendry: I'm not saying yes to anyone, they just keep super-liking me. Is that normal?

Arya: lol

Arya: Might have something to do with the fact that you’re a 12/10

Gendry: So everyone’s super-liking you too?

Arya: Good one

Gendry: I wasn’t joking..?

Arya: Shush

Arya: Ooh this guy’s bio says “don’t swipe right if you’re not down to send pics” 

Gendry: Sounds like your type of man

Arya: Should I go for it??

Gendry: Is he good looking?

Arya: I’ve seen better

Arya: I think I’ll keep searching. I’m sure there’s someone better out there

Gendry: Fingers crossed

-

Gendry: Shit oh god

Gendry: I accidentally swiped right and said it was a match!

Arya: HAHAHA please message her

Gendry: Too late 

Gendry: She said “hey there” and I unmatched. Sorry Joy. 

Arya: Only you could take half an hour to figure out how to like someone but under 10 seconds to figure out how to unlike someone lmao

Arya: Holy shit this dude’s bio is a detailed overview of the woman he’s hoping to repopulate the planet with. 

Gendry: And???

Gendry: Do you meet the criteria??

Arya: I’m shorter than he’d like and my hips probably don't match his description of child-bearing ideals

Gendry: Wow. You were right, Tinder is amazing. 

-

**_It’s a Match!_ **  
_You and Arya have liked each other._

Gendry: Wow quarantine suits you

Arya: Has that worked on any girl yet?

Gendry: You know you’re my first match other than Joy 

Gendry: I was just trying to say that your haircut looks good

Arya: Thank you

Arya: No shirtless pics?

Gendry: Are you disappointed?

Arya: Duh

Gendry: Wasn’t sure if that’s what girls look for in these profiles or not. Didn’t want to push my luck. 

Arya: You’re adorable lol

Arya: Anyone who sees you shirtless will want to fuck you, Gendry, I promise

Gendry: Good to know

Gendry: Nice bikini by the way

-

Arya was glad he saw her bikini picture. Gendry was, too, although now he had yet another photo of Arya that he couldn’t manage to get out of his mind. This made his schoolwork rather difficult to focus on. 

-

“Six letters - something, something, A, something, something, something. _Sealed off location._ ”

“Skagos!” 

“Ahh, of course! Okay, you’ll get this one, too. 17-across, eight letters. _A grim canine_.” 

-

Arya: I’m out of ice cream sandwiches

Gendry: Oh shit

Gendry: The real apocalypse starts now

Arya: I’m moments away from shaving my head and going full Mad Max rn

Gendry: Grocery stores deliver

Gendry: Link: KLMarket Delivery Services

Gendry: They have the salted caramel flavours in stock, you’re going to survive this 

Arya: Oh thank fuck

Gendry: The Mad Max look would have been pretty sweet though

Arya: I know how to shoot arrows and use a sword and ride horses and stuff, I think I’d do alright

Gendry: I’ll stick with you then, cause I can’t do any of those things

Arya: Aww don’t worry, I’ll protect you

Gendry: Thank you, country club warrior princess

Arya: :*

-

Gendry: This sunset is insane. Can you see it from your place?

Arya: Not currently. Send me a pic!

_Incoming video call from Gendry ___

__-_ _

__“Thought this would - oh,” Gendry froze as he took in Arya on his screen. She was in the bathtub, the ends of her hair darker than the rest as they traced the surface of the water. Soap bubbles kept her from being completely indecent, but he still felt his bottom lip drop slightly as he stared at her. He swallowed at the sight of her tattoo, the intricate handle the only part currently visible to him. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were bright and she looked as though she was waiting for him to say something. “Shit.”_ _

__“Hi,” she said back._ _

__“Sorry, it’s - I didn’t realize,” he cursed himself for stammering. “I can call back.” Arya shrugged._ _

__“I’d like to see the sunset,” she said. He swallowed and flipped the camera around to show her the pinky-orange glow from his balcony. Arya’s eyes lit up and she nodded, saying something about how pretty it was. Gendry did his best to focus on her face and not at the halfhearted job the bath bubbles were doing in covering her up._ _

__-_ _

__“This is how I killed my last phone,” Arya said as the sky faded into a dusky blue, and Gendry flipped his camera around so that she could see him again._ _

__“How often do you film yourself in the bathtub?” Gendry asked. Arya rolled her eyes._ _

__“I wasn’t _filming_ that time,” she said, “I was reading the news. Something about a sickness in Essos that was going to wreak havoc on us all.”_ _

__“Wish we’d listened,” Gendry said seriously as he stepped back inside and slid his door closed. “Every day I spend alone in here makes me go a little bit crazier.”_ _

__“Yeah,” Arya said, “I know this whole isolation thing is worth it if it stops the spread, but the past few weeks have felt like a decade. I’m completely wound up.”_ _

__“You look pretty relaxed right now,” Gendry said, nodding to her. “Wish I had a bathtub.”_ _

__“Believe me, I wish you did too,” Arya smiled, rather liking the idea of talking to a Gendry that was completely naked and soaking wet. “You could always, like, take your shirt off. To even the playing field, right?”_ _

__-_ _

__It wasn’t the first time that either one had got off to the other, but it was the first time they had acknowledged it, the first time they did so together._ _

__Arya’s soapy chest rising and falling as she brought herself to a peak was enough to make Gendry’s head spin._ _

__The way his breaths seemed to react to the noises she made was enough to put her over the edge far sooner than she expected. She liked the way her name sounded from his lips._ _

__-_ _

__Arya: Last night was really nice_ _

__Arya: I’ve never done that before_ _

__Gendry: What??_ _

__Arya: Over video I mean. Obviously I’ve done /that/ before._ _

__Gendry: Ok good_ _

__Gendry: It was really nice though_ _

__Gendry: We should do that again sometime_ _

__Arya: You just say the word_ _

__-_ _

__Both of them came tantalizingly close to proposing another video call in evenings that followed. Gendry desperately wanted to see Arya, hair splayed out on her pillow, cheeks flushed, lip between her teeth - but every time he almost suggested it, he stopped himself, knowing that hanging up and finding himself alone in his bed would suck too much. He wanted it to be his teeth that held her bottom lip, and his pillow that her hair fell upon._ _

__Arya was aching to hear his name fall from Gendry’s lips again - she just didn’t want it to be her own hand between her legs._ _

__One of them would break soon, surely, and the other would exhale in relief and eagerly participate._ _

__-_ _

__Mya posted an Instagram story to wish her brother a happy birthday - a photo from a few months back featuring Gendry giving a faux-cheerful thumbs up as Mya and a couple of other black-haired young people smiled at the camera._ _

__Gendry messaged Arya about his annoyingly loud neighbours that morning, and then about how glad he was that his advisor didn’t care if his research paper was delayed indefinitely, and then about how he was thinking about watching some docu-series that Netflix kept suggesting to him. He never mentioned his birthday._ _

__Arya wracked her brain for ideas, but it’s hard to come up with nice gift ideas when the world is rather preoccupied with a deadly, contagious virus. With more time to plan, she could have ordered him something, but of course he hadn’t told her his birthday was coming up. He didn’t “do” birthdays._ _

__-_ _

__“Hello?” Gendry answered the phone. She hadn’t told him she was going to call._ _

__“Go up to the roof,” Arya said._ _

__“What?”_ _

__“Just do it.”_ _

__“Fine,” he said, opening the front door of his apartment for the first time in days. “What’s this about?”_ _

__“Stop asking questions.”_ _

__“Whoa, okay,” Gendry laughed as he jogged up the stairs. “Since when are you so bossy?”_ _

__“I’ve always been bossy,” Arya said confidently, and Gendry was positive that she intentionally said it with a little purr to her voice. He exhaled steadily, popping out onto the rooftop and taking in the last of the sunset. “Turn around,” she said, and now there was a hint of apprehension in her voice. He spun and saw her._ _

__She was two blocks away, standing on her own rooftop holding a large bristol board that read “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” with confetti drawn around it. He grinned._ _

__“I don’t do birthdays,” he said, waving to her and then scratching the back of his head. She was far enough away that he couldn’t make out much besides the text on the board, but it looked as though she was smiling._ _

__“Well I do,” she said firmly. “I only found out today, otherwise I would have sent you something.”_ _

__“You don’t need to -,”_ _

__“Shut up,” she interrupted. “You’re my friend, I wanted to do _something_. She set the bristol board down and crossed her free hand over her chest. Her body language appeared almost nervous. “I was thinking we could watch the stars come out. I couldn’t think of an actual gift since, like, everywhere’s closed and stuff.” She turned to face him, and he hoped that (even in the fading light of the evening) she could see that he was smiling. _ _

__-_ _

__“This is sort of my ideal birthday,” he admitted. The sky was dark now, and sprinkled with stars. They had been sitting there for what felt like hours. Gendry sort of wished he had brought a sweatshirt with him, but there was nothing that would pull him away from this rooftop right now._ _

__“Quarantined and sitting alone on a cold roof?”_ _

__“Ha ha,” Gendry said. “I just don’t like being made a fuss of. This was perfect.”_ _

__“I’m glad,” Arya breathed._ _

__“I wish I could kiss you,” Gendry said before his brain could stop him. He heard her breath catch. It was as though it was a secret. They had made it clear, in the most explicit sense possible, that they would happily have sex with each other. Maybe the self-isolation was going to his head, but the thought of kissing Arya - even a brief, chaste thing - made his blood feel hot, his wish for a sweatshirt forgotten._ _

__“I wish I could do a _lot_ more than just kiss you,” Arya said after a moment, and the earnestness in her voice nearly winded him. _ _

__“As soon as all of this is over.”_ _

__-_ _

__She left swiftly, throwing a bag together in the middle of the night and rushing from her building into the car that her parents had sent. All air and rail travel had been suspended, so it was just her and the driver all the way from King’s Landing to Winterfell. She did her best to sleep the whole time, but she didn’t feel as though she had rested at all when the car pulled up outside the family home. The sun was out now._ _

__Arya rushed inside and fell into her father’s embrace. “What do we do?” she breathed._ _

__“We can’t do anything,” he said calmly. “We can’t go see him, we can only wait. And we thought it’d be best if we did that together.” He patted her head and hugged her tighter. “But it means we’ll all be quarantined here for another couple of weeks, since any of us could also have it.” Arya nodded. “Have you heard from Sansa?”_ _

__Arya placed a hand on her back pocket and realized, with a wave of dismay, that her phone was still plugged into its charger, sitting on the nightstand in her apartment in the city._ _

__-_ _

__Bran was healthy, for the most part. He had beaten a bout of illness as a boy, and it had cost him a good deal of bone from his left leg, but he was healthy now, for the most part. He would be fine, surely._ _

__(But, gun to their heads, if any of the Starks had to pick a family member to get infected, they all would have chosen Bran last.)_ _

__-_ _

__Gendry: I think I’m going to actually try reading a novel today_ _

__Gendry: Nothing school related or non-fiction, like an actual book_ _

__Gendry: The only one I’ve got is this cheesy looking mystery one. I’ll keep you posted_ _

__Gendry: K I’ve given up and read the last chapter. The detective finds the missing girl and they hook up. Not sure why Edric was so keen on it._ _

__Gendry: Wow it’s 2pm, that is quite the lie in_ _

__Gendry: You okay?_ _

__Gendry: Arya..?_ _

__-_ _

__Mya: hey kiddo Arya wanted me to let you know that she’s at Winterfell. her little brother’s sick and she accidentally left her phone at her apartment._ _

__Gendry: Shit_ _

__Gendry: Is there anything I can do?_ _

__Mya: don’t think so. just be around when she gets back._ _

__Gendry: of course_ _

__-_ _

__“He is going to be fine,” Catelyn reassured the breakfast table, though Arya knew that not being able to see her son was getting to her. “He had very normal vitals when he had a check-up back in January. He’ll be fine.” Arya tapped her foot impatiently and ran a hand over her face._ _

__“Stop touching your face!” Sansa snapped, and Arya grimaced as she dropped her hands from her chin._ _

__“Let’s all go put our dishes away and wash our hands,” said Robb calmly. Arya scrubbed her hands so vigorously that they hurt afterwards._ _

__-_ _

__She couldn’t sleep. She could have used Gendry’s low voice in her ear, but she tried not to think about it too much. It could be a long time before they spoke again, and there was no sense in making herself miss him more._ _

__-_ _

__Being quarantined alone was challenging, and being quarantined with your entire family was challenging in new and infuriating ways._ _

__Sansa disinfected any surface that they touched. This was fine until Robb complained that his coffee had started tasting like disinfectant._ _

__Rickon hates being stuck inside, and had taken to playing sports inside, which was putting Catelyn even more on edge. “We have a _yard_ , Rickon. You’re allowed to play in the yard.” _ _

__Ned paced more than Arya had ever seen him do so._ _

__-_ _

__“What good is a vaccine to Bran?” Arya cried, letting her selfishness get the best of her. “We can’t vaccinate it out of him!”_ _

__“Arya,” Ned said, though he wore the same wild sort of frustration in his eyes, “it means that we can all get vaccinated, which means that we could potentially visit him. And it means that everyone else can avoid it now.”_ _

__“So, we’ll be allowed to go outside again,” Sansa said, as though the full weight of this had only just hit her. “I can break up with Harry now!”_ _

__“You had to wait until now?” Rickon asked, bemused._ _

__“I wasn’t going to break up with him while we were stuck in the same apartment indefinitely,” Sansa snapped._ _

__-_ _

__Arya’s arm throbbed painfully for two days after receiving her vaccination shot, but it was worth it to see Bran grin up at her from his hospital bed. They had been forced to wait for three full weeks as the hospital adjusted to relative normalcy, without hundreds of new, highly contagious and vulnerable patients arriving every day. There was order now, and space for families to come and see their loved ones, so long as they had their vaccination slips on hand and they only stepped foot in the rooms that they were guided to._ _

__Bran looked alright, though the circles under his eyes were darker than Arya had ever seen them._ _

__“I’m getting better,” he said, and his voice was clear and confident. “They told me they’ll keep me for another four days, and if I show no more symptoms, I’m allowed to go home.”_ _

__-_ _

__He did come home, tired and relieved and pensieve._ _

__“I always assumed that people who survived the plague back in the day would have felt really happy and lucky,” he mused as Arya made him tea and Sansa set out some biscuits. “But I think they probably just felt sort of sad and guilty.”_ _

__“Don’t feel guilty,” Arya said, setting down his tea and pressing her lips to the side of his head. “But sad is fair, I think.”_ _

__-_ _

__It was strange, watching the world attempt to return to its former self. Some little businesses slowly began to open their doors again, others remained shut for now. The trains started running again, but people seemed hesitant to jump right back into their near-forgotten routines. The one thing people did rush to, though, was other people._ _

__Friends who hadn’t seen each other in months rushed to embrace each other. Dinner parties and pub nights and picnics crowded everyone’s social calendars, and cancelled concerts and plays began to work their way back onto the marquees of the theatres._ _

__Arya dropped her things at her apartment and felt her chest tighten at the number of unread message notifications on her phone. She dialed his number as soon as she stepped outside._ _

__-_ _

__“You’re back?” Gendry said, his voice catching. She felt a wave of calm at his words._ _

__“Yeah,” Arya breathed. “Are you vaccinated?”_ _

__“Of course, yeah,” Gendry insisted. “Yes. Is your brother okay?”_ _

__“He is,” Arya nodded. “He’s totally fine.”_ _

__“Thank the seven. Listen, can you go up to the roof?”_ _

__“What?” Arya said, caught off guard. “I... sure.” She heard him slam a door and stomp upwards. She followed suit._ _

__“Let me know when you’re up,” he said, his voice muffled slightly by the wind. “I’ve missed you.”_ _

__“I’ve missed you, too,” Arya agreed as she hurried up the stairs. “More than I should have, probably, considering the way all of this started.” Gendry snorted._ _

__“I feel very lucky that my phone number is so similar to Mya’s,” he said._ _

__“Who knew destiny was such a fan of the topless photo?” Arya asked. Gendry laughed again._ _

__“You almost up?” he asked. She hung up on him as he spoke her name. “Arya?”_ _

__-_ _

__“Hi,” a voice said behind him, and the roof door clunked shut behind her. He spun to face her, dropping the bristol board in his hand._ _

__“Hi,” he breathed. The wind was blowing her hair into her face as she nodded at the sign by his feet._ _

__“What does that say?”_ _

__“Nothing,” he said, “Not nothing, no, just - was wondering if you’d go on a date with me. A proper date.”_ _

__“I think our quarantine dinner should count as a proper date,” she said as she came closer. “And the stargazing was definitely a date.” He nodded._ _

__“A third date, then,” he breathed. “Isn’t that usually when one of us is supposed to make a move?” Arya nodded and tucked a flyaway strand of hair behind her ear._ _

__“This might be our third date, then,” Arya said, her wide, grey eyes looking up at him with a little smile._ _

__“Suppose so,” Gendry agreed. He touched her cheek and she touched his chest. For a moment, the warmth of the other’s hand was enough to take both of their breath away._ _

__And then he was kissing her, and it felt like nothing he had ever felt before. He took her lip between his teeth the way he had wanted to for far too long. Her hands and her lips seemed to be working almost in competition, trying to cover as much surface area as possible. He groaned as her lips briefly found his neck, and her name spilled out, earning him a sigh that his whole body seemed to react to. She tugged at the hem of his t-shirt and without a second thought he pulled it over his head, unable to stop himself from grinning at the look in her eyes as she took him in. He moved back to her and kissed her again, taking in every tactile thing he could, from the softness of her hair to the warmth of her lips against his. The buttons of her shirt pressed into his chest and he couldn’t help but bring his fingers to the top button._ _

__Arya froze in his arms and pulled back slightly, her hands tracing his chest. “I cannot believe I’m about to say this,” she said, grinning. He remembered that they were on a rooftop that was totally visible to many surrounding buildings. “But I think we have to go inside.”_ _

__-_ _

__She had always loved her tattoo, but she had never liked it quite as much as she did when Gendry traced his fingers down the blade. She liked it even more when he did the same with his lips._ _

__Perhaps months of being alone had made them both starved for the touch of another person, because the whole thing was infinitely better than either of them had imagined._ _

__She fell asleep in his bed and he fell asleep smiling at the way her hair fanned out on his pillow._ _

__-_ _

__The phone ringing woke him up, so he answered it._ _

__“Hello?”_ _

__“Gendry?”_ _

__“Morning Mya, what’s up?”_ _

__“Well, I was just calling Arya, actually, to see how Bran was doing,” Mya said flatly, though it sounded as though she was trying not to laugh. “Not sure I want to know why my half asleep brother is now taking her calls.”_ _

__“What?” He pulled the phone away from his face to see a clear, uncracked screen. His phone was not the one that had been ringing. “Oh.”_ _

**Author's Note:**

> i'm working on my other fics, i promise :) xx


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